One way to increase your organization’s chances of getting news coverage is to offer your local newspaper a good photo that helps tell the story you are pitching. A well-taken photo tells a story with action, movement and emotion. It grabs you. It makes you take notice. It’s emotive.
Unfortunately, most organizations rely on dull, trite “grip and grin” shots. This is a photo that involves the subjects looking and grinning at the camera while shaking each others’ hands, holding a giant cheque or cutting a big ribbon. The grip and grin is a classic, boring photo, typically of senior executives who are posing insincerely. Here’s an example I found on Google.
While this kind of photo might be a shoe-in for your organization’s internal communications or corporate newsletter, it’s not ideal for your local newspaper. Most papers shy away from these bland, self-serving photos.
You don’t have to settle for dull! If you plan on arranging a photo, why not spice it up a little?
Let’s use the example of a company donating funds to a local food bank or shelter. A bad photo might be a senior executive posing with a giant cheque. A good photo is that same senior executive at the shelter, wearing an apron and ladling soup to homeless people while talking to them. See the difference?
To learn 4 techniques to better corporate photos, read these great tips I found on a fellow communicator’s blog.
P.S. Don’t forget to tag your photos and post them on Flickr, Facebook and other social media sites. This will help to increase your Google ranking and you’ll be able to easily share your good deeds online with others.
- Maria LoScerbo